MY BIRDWATCHING HIGHLIGHTS FOR JUNE 2006

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1st Jun. At Neo ChorioA lovely pair of eleonoras falcons hunting while a turtle dove sang and a single raven flew over looking for trouble as ravens always do!

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3rd Jun.  At Tavronitis.  Were 2 little bitterns and an alpine swift.
               Along the coast. Were a kestrel; a blue rock thrush; and a pair of lesser kestrel.

                 

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5th Jun.  At Tavronitis. Were a pair of turtle doves and a juvenile bonellis eagle which was being heavily mobbed by a crow. Further along the coast was a single lanner falcon - and a pair of lesser kestrels being mobbed a crow.
 

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8th Jun. At Afrata. Were a pair of kestrels and a male blue rock thrush, while several hundred meters out to sea a buzzard lazily circled - though what it expected to find was beyond me! Also a lone griffon vulture circled.

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9th Jun.  Near Tavronitis. A flock of 30+ pallid swifts.

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11th JunAt Neo Chorio. Just a single raven; a turtle dove; and a hoopoe.  

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13th JunAt Neo Choriosingle eleonoras falcon, while
                 At Nembros. We saw a booted eagle - this a very late sighting of perhaps a non-breeder.
                 At Platanias. Was a single eleonoras falcon, and
                 At Gerani. A little egret.

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16th Jun.  At Neo Chorio. Was a hoopoe. Two swallows came into our lounge, circling and twittering for several minutes while they sought a nesting site for next year – some chance given the mess they make!

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18th Jun. At Neo Chorio. A pair of long legged buzzards.

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22nd Jun. Along the coast. We found several crested larks.

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23rd Jun. Chania. Circling over Chania hospital were a pair of short toed eagles.

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25th Jun. At Neo Chorio. We saw a short toed eagle; a turtle dove; dozens of swifts; and 30+ pallid swifts; plus 1 eleonoras falcon.

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26th Jun. At Kolymbari. While relaxing over a well chilled beer, we were surprised to see a dolphin only about 50 meters out to sea, leaping at least four times clear of the water. This was the first we have seen for about two years.
               
At Neo Chorio. We watched a single short toed eagle, while 4 adult buzzards shepherded 2 juveniles as they learned the subtleties of flying over our valley in the rising thermals of the midday sun.

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30th Jun. At Neo Chorio. Were a pair of short toed eagles, then later a single, perhaps one of the pair.

 

A few final words for June. 

As predicted, June turned out to be a very quiet month as the migrants have got to wherever they were going and many of the breeding birds are well into post breeding moult, so very wisely kept a low profile as their new feathers grew ready for their migration to start soon - or just in preparation for the rigours of the coming winter.

We are fascinated by the way that the short toed eagles manage to keep so low a profile while they are breeding that we simply do not see them. They arrive and display in  April, then seem to disappear until late June, when they reappear with at least one juvenile and are easy to see again as they nest just over the hill behind our house. Possibly their hunting is restricted to the early mornings while they are breeding. I do not do mornings and so perhaps miss them!

Interesting too are the summer sightings of long legged buzzards, in suitable habitat and during the breeding season, but not enough sightings to draw any conclusions.

What has become depressing is the noticeable decline of several species. When we arrived seven years ago the Tavronitis valley held the densest population of scops owls on Crete, but the cold winter two years ago wiped them out. We used to sit on our terrace in the evenings and listen to up to six pairs competing to duet. A pair nested in the semi-ruined house behind ours and their repeated mating on the telephone poles around our garden seemed to ensure their continued future. Some hope! Now all we hear is a distant solitary bird giving a few calls before giving up as it gets no answer. I have already reported on how the fan tailed warblers have totally disappeared from a stretch of over 30 miles of coastline so that I no longer know where to find any to show visitors. How also crested larks have become so few that I now record when I see them. Where we used to see flocks of eleonoras falcons we now only see singles most of the time.

As well as recording the decline in bird species it is also very noticeable how much the bat population has gone down. As the sun set we used to see dozens, there were so many that my bat detector became very confused judging by the cacophony of bleeps and burps it tried to give out as they flew around us. Our top patio needed frequent sweeping to remove their droppings from where they rested and fed on the insects they had caught. Now we are lucky to see a single or now and again just two as the sun goes down.

I recall we had a large olive tree that was over 25 feet high and hollow that was filled to within a couple of meters of the top with bat droppings. So many that it took me days spreading them as an organic fertilizer around the other trees when the telephone company cut the tree down because it had grown into their cables. I feel insect numbers are well down, fewer butterflies and praying mantis for certain - and there are probable declines in other species. I may paint a dismal picture but can only report what I find. Perhaps, after all,  we are not headed for a “Silent Spring" (as so devastatingly described by Rachel Carson) here and things will pick up again. Certainly return migration will get under way during July and the sight of flocks of herons, ibis, storks and egrets will cheer us up. I hope so as some readers of this site are arriving soon and have asked me to find them some raptors. I will do my best for them!

Until next month, good watching.  Paul Smith.

Paul's Diary highlights commenced at the end of August 2001.  The current diary is moved to the diary archive at the end of each month - if you are considering a bird watching trip to NW Crete, the previous highlights may well help you decide the best month for your visit - your link to the diary archive is below.

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